next on "msnbc sunday" -- nine days before debt ceiling doomsday, and there's yet another republican blueprint to cut the debt, but will it seal a deal with the white house? also ahead, new revelations in norway's nightmare of mass murder. a confession, a possible motive, and a manifesto of hate. plus, a mother's intuition. amy winehouse's mother tells a newspaper it was only a matter of time before amy died. and french cuffs. track stars from france resort to fisticuffs when their team loses. come on, boys. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. welcome back to "msnbc sunday" where it's 11:00 a.m. on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. out west. let's get to what's happening out there. drawing a line in the sand. the white house says it will reject a deal that does not raise the debt ceiling through 2013. meanwhile, house speaker john boehner says he aims to unveil the framework for a new shorter-term plan this afternoon. speaking on "meet the press" white house chief of staff bill daley pushed back against a

short-term deal. >> this has to be two steps. but the second step must get us through '13 without having to go through this ridiculous fight over extending the debt ceiling. >> i just want to be clear. the president would veto a plan if it does not extend the debt ceiling into 2013? >> yes. the president believes that we must get this uncertainty, in order to help the american economy and help the american people, we must get this uncertainty out of the system. >> joining me now, nbc white house correspondent mike viqueira. good sunday morning to you, mike. >> good morning, alex. >> let's get to it right now. seems like we're getting two different messages and we don't even have this republican blueprint yet. >> yeah, and it's bewildering, i know. there are so many different plans floating around. here's the bottom line what people need to know. we are nine days away from the first potential default of the u.s. government in american history. all sides agree that something must be done to avoid that at all costs. the president and the republican speaker of the house were together negotiating over the past few weeks. we all know by now that john boehner, the speaker, pulled the

plug on that friday night. repercussions followed unusually personal attacks from the president to the speaker and back again. there were talks over the weekend among congressional leaders deciding to try to take this on themselves to try to come up with solutions. republicans and democrats all sitting around a table last night together, they still are at an impasse for all the reasons that were just outlined there by the white house chief of staff. so everybody's looking at asian markets. they open later today at 4:00 eastern time. of course it's monday morning in the far east. how are they going to react to all of this gridlock here? meanwhile, john boehner says he's got a plan here. you heard bill daley say as the plan stands right now he would veto it. john boehner says he has a plan and if he can't get democrats to agree he may just put it forward and have the house vote on it. he was on fox news earlier today, and here's what he had to say. >> i would prefer to have a bipartisan approach to solve this problem. if that's not possible, i and my republican colleagues in the house are prepared to move on our own.

>> today? >> today. >> reporter: so the situation, alex, obviously very serious. obviously, the two parties are talking past each other. one glimmer of hope today, both sides, the treasury secretary on yet another program today, and john boehner said what they were discussing before the whole deal blew up between the white house and john boehner on friday, that's still on the table, says john boehner. that's centered around the sticking point there, some $800 billion in new revenues, i.e. tax revenues. that's something that's very sensitive on the republican side. obviously, it blew up because the president asked for more, raising taxes on wealthier americans. boehner says that offer is still on the table. geithner says there still could be some arrangement on the so-called grand bargain. but nine days out, alex, they're still talking past each other. >> yeah. you know, realistically, this 4:00 p.m. plan that john boehner's supposed to present, the one that has the shorter-term deal, you listened to white house chief of staff bill daley as you waited for us, mike. if he said look, there will be no deal if this doesn't go through 2013. is there any point to present

this 4:00 p.m. plan? >> here's the thing. they have inadvertently set this deadline. the asian markets opening at 4:00 eastern time. if the asian markets go crazy, then we really do have a crisis here because that could have a contagion around the world when american markets open tomorrow morning on monday. if he puts forth a gop-only plan it runs the risk of demonstrating to the world that republicans and democrats in the white house simply cannot come together. it's a very high-stakes game of chicken here. the thought on the republican side is we put this gop plan on the house floor, it passes, the senate is going to have no choice as the clock ticks here but to put it on the senate floor, and the president is not going to have any choice but to sign it if we're jamming up against the deadline. and that's what's going on here. a potential political jam job by the republicans. >> i tell you, it's a lot hotter than the temperature reads for the next five hours in d.c. yikes. mike viqueira, thank you. >> reporter: okay. >> just to remind you again we ichblt you to watch the re-airing of "meet the press" today at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on "msnbc sunday." we have new developments on those twin attacks in norway

that took the lives of at least 93 people. the lawyer for the suspect says his client has confessed to the bomb attack in downtown oslo as well as the shooting rampage at a teen summer camp on a nearby island. 32-year-old anders breivik is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. let's get the latest now from nbc's martin fletcher in oslo. good morning, martin. >> reporter: alex, the king and queen of norway, government leaders, all attended a memorial in oslo cathedral this morning for the more than 93 victims while the man who did it says he did it because he wanted to change norwegian society. >> reporter: norway is in mourning, trying to understand. photos of the youth camp taken just before the shooting as norway's prime minister said a paradise island that turned into hell. desperate survivors pulled into safety. from the worst shooting massacre in memory. at least 85 murdered. >> going around killing people like it was no deal. >> he just was like shooting

everyone. he wasn't thinking. it feels like a nightmare. i don't believe this is true. >> reporter: police say the suspect hunted the victims, aged from 12 to 19, shooting them for 90 minutes. but when police finally arrived, this is his moment of surrender. no resistance. he had no police record. >> we have not arrested him before or anything like that. >> reporter: police say in may the suspect bought six tons of fertilizer, similar to the kind timothy mcveigh used in oklahoma city. it may have been used to make the bomb. after setting off the car bomb that killed seven in oslo's central square the suspect drove to the island, less than an hour away, dressed as a policeman. he told the teenagers he needed to protect them after the oslo bombing. he gathered them close and opened fire. >> the reason i thought it was a game or, i don't know, something else, was it was like not high sound shooting. it was like a silencer or

something. so it sounded like fireworks. >> reporter: as they fled through the woods and swam for their lives, he picked them off one by one. >> the guy with the gun, he was standing there, and he was shooting at us. if i start to swim a bit later, i would have been shot. i think we would have been dead now. >> i tried to save as i could, but there were people there that i couldn't do anything for. >> reporter: the suspect's name is anders behring breivik, 32 years old. just last week he updated his facebook page, called himself a christian, a conservative, likes hunting. facebook friends, zero. a right-winger but with no signs of potential violence. >> how strong is the right wing here, and how big is this pool of people that could produce such a person? >> that pool of people, i would say, is very, very limited. what we see here is a rather extreme single instance rather than something representative. >> reporter: the maximum

punishment in norway for any crime is 21 years in prison. if convicted, the 32-year-old suspect would be back on the streets when he's 53 years old. just hours before he began his murder spree the suspect posted a manifesto on the internet. he said he wanted to stop muslim immigration into europe and he hoped the attack would focus attention on his political views. now he's been charged with terrorism and will be arraigned tomorrow. alex? >> thank you very much, martin fletcher from oslo. well, americans are expressing their support for norway. on saturday mourners created a makeshift memorial in washington, d.c., where people left flowers, flags, candles, and cards by a statue in front of the norwegian embassy. president obama has also offered his condolences to the people of norway. and for the latest on the massacre in that country including new details about the suspect in custody, you can all log on to our website at msnbc.com. friends, fans, and the music industry are mourning the death of grammy award-winning singer amy winehouse.

she was just 27 years old. winehouse shot to fame with her "back to black" album and was known for both her incredible talent and her troubles. the star very publicly battled addiction to alcohol and drugs, leading some to speculate about the cause of her death. nbc's tazeen ahmad joins us from london with the latest. and tazeen, with another good morning to you, i know the singer's own mother had said that she wasn't well. what do we know about her recent health? >> reporter: i mean, we know that she wasn't doing well at all. she was thin. she was disheveled. there were clear signs of acknowledge and drug abuse. her own mother, who saw her apparently the day before she died, declared she was out of it. she also hangs on to the fact that the last words amy said to her were "i love you, mom." so she's holding on to that. but obviously, both parents, mother and father, have been saying quite publicly for a couple of years now that they expected her to die. her alcohol and drug abuse had got so bad. she in fact checked herself into a clinic just last month, the month before, for a whole week

where she spent time after she had to come off her tour because she was incapable of completing, even starting with the tour. after she spent a week in rehab she then was out and then she was an outpatient for several months. but clearly, whatever the problem was was not resolved, alex. >> yeah. indeed. tell me what it's like where you are today. there outside of her house. i mean, what is the media coverage like? >> reporter: there are -- you can't see this, but there are several cameras to my right as well as to my right. paparazzi are here. tributes have been laid. you've been seeing pictures of that. the flowers have been growing in number. so have the cards and candles. just behind the camera are sort of three or four layers of fans who've come to see her house and also to see the sort of spectacle that the media here are creating too, alex. >> yeah, i can imagine. and an autopsy is scheduled for when, tazeen? >> reporter: tomorrow. it was initially supposed to be today. it's now been moved to tomorrow.

the police are saying it's dangerous to speculate about what the cause is. they're saying it's unexplained but not suspicious. the autopsy will take place tomorrow. the results will probably emerge in the next few days, alex. >> nbc's tazeen ahmad there outside of amy winehouse's home. thank you. it's a day of wish fulfillment here in new york for gay couples that have been waiting for years, even decades to get married. today is the first full day that gay couples can legally tie the knot in the state. and these are some of the first couples to receive their marriage licenses in new york city. nbc's michelle franzen is live for us downtown there. so with another good morning to you, michelle, boy, that line doesn't seem to be getting any smaller behind you, does it? >> reporter: well, it is getting smaller, and that's because it was wrapped around the building and a lot of people showed up very early this morning. the first few couples at 4:30 this morning. right now we're told that the people who started lining up at about 8:30 this morning are just getting ready to move inside to go through the process.

so that gives you an idea that they certainly are moving along but not certainly at a very quick pace. but the city assures me that everybody here in manhattan and all the other boroughs of new york city will marry. in all, 823 couples today in new york city. they had entered a lottery and the city made sure that all who had entered would get a chance to become a part of history today and also making it official for them. we've got an exit door on the other side, and you've got people showing up there who are just wishing the couples who just got married well as they begin their lives together. and alex, some of these couples have been together for some 25, 30 years. and the first -- one of the first couples that married here in manhattan today, christine quinn told us a short time ago they were in their 80s. >> well, the very first -- i think we're seeing the very first, which were in niagara falls there. the typical wedding and honeymoon place. we're seeing some pictures there to the left of you there, michelle. but nonetheless, no matter where it takes place, it's evident

across the state there are a lot of people very, very happy today. thank you very much for the live report. in a moment the battle over the debt ceiling. the potential ripple effect on wall street and in markets all around the globe. what will happen if the u.s. goes into default? also ahead, the tax burden on americans. we're going to show you where people pay the most state and local taxes and where people pay the least amount. you're watching "msnbc sunday." you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. ♪ geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance.

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the drama over raising the u.s. credit limit is still convulsing washington this morning. house speaker john boehner is calling for a two-tiered plan to be worked out by this afternoon, in fact 4 1/2 hours from now, after his meeting last night with other congressional leaders. boehner saying he wants action from congress before trading starts in the asian markets. joining me now, dallas radio talk show host and portfolio

manager jim lecamp. good importanting again to you, jim. >> good morning. >> okay. so you don't think the markets are going to go nuts, the overseas markets, asia in particular, or do you? >> i think there will be a reaction. i don't think it will be a crash like 1987, what we had with the flash crash a couple of years ago. i certainly do think there will be a reaction. keep in mind the market's kind of just been up and down for the last six months. and we had a 200-point rally the other day based on the notion that this deal was going to get done. so now the deal's not done. they're going to unwind at least that rally. so i think you're looking at maybe 200, 300 points. i just don't think it's going to be an epic, historic crash. >> okay. but isn't wall street unhappy with all this unsnernt they don't like uncertainty. >> it's the one thing they hate the most. even going into wars we've seen markets stall and stall and stall, and then when the bullets started flying, hey, at least we know what the rules are. and then markets start rallying. i think if you give wall street a set of rules that they can know how to deal with, even if they don't like it, they can deal with it. >> give me a sense of how the

u.s. credit rating is going to be affected, both in the circumstance that we reach a debt limit ceiling and push it forward by august 2nd or if it's affected by all this just back and forth, back and forth, and seeming uncertainty. >> yeah, if the deal is not really substantial, i think you're going to see a possible downgrade of u.s. debt. i think they have to do something serious here. i mean, we've been talking about this for a year. but really, if you look forward, now that it's been called attention to, the rating agencies are really focusing in on the u.s. and we have a lot of debt moving forward. so i think if they downgrade u.s. debt or if they go into default and then they downgrade, interest rates will probably end up going higher. because we're going to have to pay more for international investors to buy our debt. so the way you pay more is you raise interest rates. it could also mean that banks freeze up lending at least in the short term. so there could be some

disruptions. >> what about secretary geithner's prediction of improved growth for the latter half of 2011? do you think that is something based on susstive nebstantive n or is that wishful thinking? >> well, i like to be optimistic but looking at the economic reports we've seen over the last few months we really haven't seen much to hang our hats on. the jobs numbers have not gotten any better. the unemployment, the housing numbers. even the manufacturing numbers, which really had been doing well for us during this economic recovery, have started to slow down. and now we're looking at growth i think that's going to be 1% or less in the second half of the year. and that's not enough to either cut into the deficit or even help the jobs or housing market. >> do you think there's a realistic timetable out there for reaching an agreement on the debt ceiling that everyone can agree on? do you think it's imminent? do you think it's mid-week? do you think we're pushing it to august 1st at midnight? >> i think it has to be imminent. s&p, the s&p rating agency that is threatening to lower our credit rating, says that you've got to get something done right away. and they are putting us at a

50-50 chance of a downgrade of u.s. debt. >> 50-50. really? >> 50-50. so i think they need to do something meaningful, substantial, and right away or i think you're going to see the markets go from a 200, 300-point sell-off that i was talking about a second ago to something far more meaningful. >> okay. jim lacamp, good to see you here in studio. >> wish it was under more cheery circumstances. >> yes, i do too as well. thanks so much. in a moment, it's one of the reasons your cell phone bill keeps doeg up and you have no choice but to pay for it. you're watching "msnbc sunday." i love that my daughter's part fish.

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four volunteer firefighters in tennessee are under arrest on arson charges. they are accused of setting several fires. including one that destroyed their own firehouse and two fire trucks. the sheriff says the suspects have been with the fire department about two years.

>> i believe a lot of it stemmed from just the thrill of going to a fire or the boredom and wanting something to do. >> the sheriff says an object used at an abandoned barn fire on monday was the clue that led them to the suspects. time now for a look at the leaders, winners, first and foremost in today's list of number ones. and given the debt crisis in washington this is a timely topic. taxes. the website 247 ranks the states where people pay the most in state and local taxes as well as the least. and the biggest tax burden falls on the folks in new jersey. folks in the garden state shell out 12.2% of their income to pay local and state taxes. new york is a very close second, though, followed by connecticut. alaskans have the lightest tax burden, paying just 6.3% of their income to state and local taxes. nevada's second, paying only 7.5%. south dakota just behind nevada to round out the top three. have you looked at your cell phone bill lately and noticed how much you pay in taxes?

the people at "smart money" magazine have found americans paying about $92 a year in cell phone taxes. and the state where consumers pay the highest percentage of their bill to taxes? nebraska, where nearly 24% of their bill is simply taxes. ♪ dance the night away ♪ jennifer lopez's "on the floor" music video may have created a lot of buzz, but it's her break-up with hubby marc anthony that puts her atop the "usa today" celebrity heat index. guess who's second. yep. marc anthony. hmm. that's odd. >> yeah, "family guy" continuing to keep americans laughing and buzzing. foxing long-running animated series now leads famecount's list of the most talked about tv networks or social -- rather shows in social media. and let's say we wrap this up with a little bit of country and the song "honeybee" by blake shelton from his new album

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of the american postal workers union. ♪ new details this morning in the deadly bomb attack and shooting rampage in norway. the suspect's lawyer says his client acted alone in the attacks. and norwegian media now says at least 93 people have died, including 86 at a teen summer camp outside oslo. meanwhile, hundreds of mourners are lining the street outside the cathedral in oslo, holding vigils and prayer services for the victims. and nbc's jay gray is in oslo. good morning, jay. >> reporter: good morning again, alex. yeah. and we continue to see hundreds of people pouring into the main cathedral here in oslo. in fact, take a look behind me and you can see what's happening. coming in from every major roadway here. all feeling like they need to be a part of what has turned into a national day of mourning in this city and across the country. we see people with candles. we see people with flowers, poems. the memorial here to the victims

is growing significantly at this point. there was a service earlier in the morning. the royal family was here, along with the prime minister, who choking back tears talked about exactly what it's going to take for his country to survive. and i want to quote him here. he said at one point, "in the midst of this tragedy i am proud to live in a country that has managed to stand firm in such a critical time." and that's what so many here are trying to do right now, stand firm and stand together as the investigation continues by police and they continue to work through their emotions here. that's the very latest in oslo. i'm jay gray. now back to you, alex. >> okay, jay, thank you so much for that. a chaotic and terrifying scene at a casino in auburn, washington. at 1:30 this morning a gunman opened fire wounding seven people, two of them critically. the armed man came in looking for his wife or girlfriend, found her with another man, then shot them both. the gunman then opened fire again, hitting five more people. he was arrested when he tried to flee. democrats and republicans

are in a major standoff today as the debt ceiling deadline rapidly approaches. white house chief of staff bill daley said the president will not accept a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling, saying it will perpetuate uncertainty. this is what republicans are saying today. >> i understand why they're saying they won't sign a short term. but i think they won't have any choice, and i think that's the only answer right now. >> i would prefer to have a bipartisan approach to solve this problem. if that's not possible, i and my republican colleagues in the house are prepared to move on our own. >> today? >> today. >> karen finney is the former dnc communications director and an msnbc political analyst and robert traynham is the d.c. bureau chief for the comcast network and the host of "roll call tv." good morning again to the two of you. so we've had some updates since we last spoke. robert, you just heard speaker boehner. do you agree with trying to push through a partisan republican deal? >> i think what speaker boehner's trying to do is move the goalpost back a little bit into the president's court and say look, you need to respond to

us and we're going to pass something, at least we think we can pass something for a short-term deal, now the ball's in your court literally and figuratively as to whether or not you want the economy to collapse. it appears the speaker's going to make this announcement sometime this afternoon by 3:00 or 4:00 by saying i have the votes, mr. presidential, to pass a short-term deal, now the ball's into your court as to whether or not you're going to sign it into law or not. >> karen, if republicans get behind this short-term plan because of the time frame we're in, could democrats and the president be forced to sign this? >> maybe. because as always, the devil is in the details. it will really depend at the end of the day what the contours of that kind of an agreement would look like, or that kind of a package would look like. and that's really a lot of what this fight has been about, is you know, again, the details and sort of what is it going to take to get this person to the table and that person to the table. although i have to tell you, alex, watching the tragedy in norway, it is really appalling. that is a human tragedy. and this is a manufactured

crisis. and it's just appalling, i have to say. >> yeah. i know. robert, with bill daley saying that the american fiscal reputation has already been damaged, is this a time more than ever for bipartisanship to ensure no further damage is done? >> absolutely. you know, oftentimes crises do bring out the best in us in terms of bipartisanship. we saw that with 9/11. we saw that after we invaded iraq. we saw that to a certain degree with some of the other crises that this country has experienced. so one would think that cooler heads would prevail. one would think that our national security interest, our economic security interest would always be first, and that partisanship would be pushed to the side. so let's hope that speaker boehner and president o'bam r. are just doing this political theater in front of cameras to appease their base but let's hope that they're trying to work out a deal for the best interests of the country. >> karen, i know i asked you about whether or not the president would have to be forced to sign a deal with the

short-term time frame to it earlier but since the white house has drawn such a clear line in the sand about this short-term deal, does that make compromise impossible? >> well, look, i think the president is the one -- i know robert's going to disagree with me, but i do feel the president is the one who has time and again been willing to compromise and move farther and closer to boehner, frankly, and again, he has been the guy who has said, you know, he's put things on the table like raising the retirement age, like, you know, additional cuts in medicare and medicaid in ways that our party does not like, but he's been willing to put it out there. again, i think compromise is possible. i think at the end of the day, though, it's going to be about the details of what that compromise looks like. but i've got to say i think the president is right on this one and you would hope in terms of cooler heads prevailing, part of the problem that boehner has is that he's got, you know, a handful of members who really don't care. they do not care to blow the thing up because to their minds,

and i understand this, although i completely disagree with it, that is taking a principled stand. so when you're dealing with that, when some folks are not even willing to compromise, it's hard to figure out, you know, how will we get there until you know what the details are. >> in terms of how we're going to get there, let's talk about when we're going to get there. both of you give me an idea whether or not we're going to go down to august 2nd at midnight. and if we do that is it too late? i mean, has damage been done? robert first. >> i don't think it's going to go down literally to the wire. i think it's probably going to be early next week -- or excuse me, early this week, perhaps wednesday or thursday. maybe tuesday. look, you're playing with fire here. >> right. >> and i think speaker boehner and president obama realize that. just in terms of the reputational repercussions, if you will, around the world. so i think this is going to get done probably by tuesday or wednesday of this week. >> karen? >> i think it gets done this week, but i think the damage is already done. i think that's what boehner and the president are starting to recognize, that even if we get a deal this week we're still going to have to do some work to

stabilize the markets and frankly repair our reputation as not just a bunch of crazy children running around the schoolyard but a stable country capable of taking care of its business. >> okay. karen finney and robert traynham, good to see you both. thank you. >> thank you. stay cool. >> okay. we'll try. it's not just washington struggling with its finances. a new survey shows that americans worry about most when it comes to their own financial health. 17% say a lack of money or income is their top concern. 12% say it's health care costs. 11% say they worry most about their own debt, either they have too much of it or not enough money to pay it off. then coming in tight, it's 9%, the high cost of living, and unemployment. this is the first day of gay marriages here in new york. more than 800 same-sex couples are expected to have weddings performed today in new york city. earlier i spoke with city council speaker christine quinn from the clerk's office in lower manhattan. and she described what is an emotional day for her. >> when the city clerk said i now under the power of the laws

of the state of new york marry you, it was an unbelievable thing to hear. to hear that he was marrying these two women both in their 80s. because the law of my state gives him that power. it was an overwhelming and thrilling thing to hear. >> yeah. and when this law passed in june i saw a number of interviews with you and read many of your comments. it was emotional for you. >> it was very emotional. and watching the two couples this morning was more emotional than i expected it to be. you know, it's -- this law is a very personal law. it's about my family. it's about people's family. and it's about the state taking discrimination out of the law. you know, before this law passed it was as if the laws of this great state said you, your family is less than other families. and now the law recognizes and affirms every family as equal, every union as good and strong as any other one. and that's an amazing thing for me personally, to have the laws

say on the books what i know in my heart, that my family is just as much a family as anybody else. but it's also an important thing for us as a society. we have tons of judges inside volunteering their time to marry people they'll never meet. we have court officers in here on a sunday who couldn't seem happier. you have a great sense of community today in lower manhattan. and that's what happens when you expand people's human rights, you actually create more unity. you create more closeness in society and a greater bond of community through love. and that's what we're seeing today. and it really is so exciting. >> that was part of my earlier conversation with new york city council speaker christine quinn as the first gay marriages are performed today. deadly and sweltering heat sending power grids into a spike in the northeast, some people into the hospital as well. the triple-digit temps were so oppressive and the air quality so bad, in parts of new york city even a stroll on the coney island boardwalk seemed like an

infernal ordeal. others took the smart way out and just stayed home or by the shore. the weather channel's eric fisher has the latest on how folks are faring in the big apple. eric? >> reporter: a lot of new yorkers will remember the last couple of days here, alex. we had 100 degrees here yesterday, that was a new record high. 104 degrees on friday. that was the second hottest temperature ever recorded here in central park. however, this morning you still see a lot of folks coming out. folks are exercising here, running down the street. temperatures still warm. will reach the low 90s today. still humid outside as well. we've noticed a few of those handsome cab rides. let's call them a little more pungent than usual with the heat here in new york city. we won't elaborate on that. we've all seen the stands selling plenty of water out here. most of the folks just selling water and ice cream. those are the big sellers. the kabobs and burritos, not so much. we've seen people taking water breaks, sitting down on the park benches as well. and the good news in new york is that the record-breaking heat is over and we're going to start to see some relief, which is a relative term. 100 yesterday. today lower 90s. back into the 80s as we head to the start of the workweek. and the average high is 85

degrees, where we should actually be. further to the south, though, a little bit of relief, but down to d.c., virginia, north carolina, and then westward in the middle of the country the heat is going to continue. and consider what we've seen over the last week, from monday through saturday, 845 record highs set across the country. over 2,000 record high or low temperatures. temperatures in the middle of the night that in many cities did not get below 80 degrees. that's what makes it difficult on our bodies. no escape from the heat even in the dead of night. alex? >> okay, eric fibber, thank you for that. let's go now to sports beyond the scores at a track and field event in monaco. two runners from france began to fight after they lost the race. the one guy says he was just trying to console his teammate and then it escalated into these fisticuffs. though they didn't exactly duke it out like, say, hockey players but it was pretty much as entertaining. the french athletics federation has suspended both runners. and before a nascar race in nashville yesterday a pastor's prerace prayer was just like a scene from the movie "talladega nights." well, first he gave thanks to

all the cars and the sponsors, and then, well, listen for yourself. >> lord, i want to thank you for my smoking hot wife tonight, lisa. and my two children, eli and emma. or as we like to call them, the little es. lord, i pray you bless the drivers and use them tonight. may they put on a performance worthy of this great track. in jesus name, boogity boogity boogity, amen. >> what's up with that boogity boogity boogity? i guess well said. you're watching "msnbc sunday." ♪ don't stop believing [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service,

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evidence. the court-appointed independent experts say that the police forensic technician made mistakes. they say the dna evidence against knox should be thrown out. she was sentenced to 26 years in prison. weill tiger woods come back to the top of the golf world after a messy break-up? this past week woods fired his long-time caddy steve williams saying it was time for a change. williams, who's from new zealand, said he was disappointed and had lost respect for tiger. joining me now from orlando, florida is golf channel analyst and former pro golfer charlie rhymer. charlie, good morning. >> good morning. how are you? >> i'm well, thanks. i guess i'm doing better since i'm not in this kind of relationship that's broken between these two guys. do you think it seemed like a very abrupt ending to a 12-year partnership? >> well, let's look at it this way. the divorce rate in the united states is about 40%. the caddy firing rate on the pga tour is nearly 100%. in fact, the only player-caddie relationship that really hasn't

busted up over the years has been phil mickelson and bones mckay. in fact, jim is the only caddy that phil mickelson has ever used. there's a joke on the pga tour every caddy is considered a future ex-caddy for someone. it happens week in, week out on the pga tour. obviously, this was a very high-profile bust-up because you can make a strong argument that this pairing, steve williams and tiger woods, was the most successful caddy-player partnership in the history of the game. i think that's the main reason it's drawn so much attention. >> oh, yeah. and the two were together through 13 major championships there. and look at the money that steve williams was able to make there. you know, if you calculate it at, say, 5% of the earnings, the "washington post" did that, williams earned close to $5 million. that's a lot of money there. >> yeah. and it's actually probably a

good bit more than that, stevie williams, because of the association with tiger was able to make a lot of money away from the golf course. and you know, probably during that 13-year period if his earnings were official pga tour earnings there's no doubt he would be on the top ten in the money list over that time period. so yeah, it was a bit of a surprise, i think, by the -- those of us who follow the game. and the interesting thing to me is the fact that most of the time when these caddies separate from the players you really don't hear anything from the caddy's side of it. stevie williams is known as being outspoken. and the interesting thing is that he is out actually making a few statements. i think really from this point forward we probably won't hear much from him. he's talking about maybe writing a book. but i just don't see that happening because that would sort of violate an unwritten role in the player-caddy relationship. i don't see him doing a tell-all

salacious-type book. and in fact, a lot of us think that he really doesn't have a whole lot of information on tiger about what happened outside the ropes with the tiger scandal over the past 18 months or so. >> but you know, charlie, even that which steve said, he said that he'd lost respect for tiger, i mean, that is a sentiment that has been echoed around the world, frankly, in the wake of the scandal with his wife and all the women that came out and the way he handled all that. but moving to his play, do you think that tiger can come back and win five more championships and beat jack nicklaus's record, or do you think that his problems are both mental and physical and just not going to happen? >> well, i think there are a lot of issues with tiger woods. the one that right now is front and center is physically can he come back. this left knee is a knee that's given him problems in the past, multiple surgeries there. i think he's very much doing the smart thing right now by staying away from the game until he's

100% healed physically. he can't afford at age 35 to go out and further damage that knee. and once he's 100% healed physically, then he can go about the business of trying to get his game back. we saw him making a little progress earlier of getting hise back. we saw himself put position in position to win me masters. that's the week he reinjured the knee that's given him problems. he tried to come back and play but he wasn't physically ready. there are a lot of questions. i think tiger woods has another good run in him if he can get 100% physically healed. >> we will have to stay tuned to the golf channel an you and see if that happens. thank you so much. >> you got it. thank you for having me on the program. now the snapshot of trends across america. it is today's ups and downs and we are all loving mcdonald's. they racked up a 15% increase in

profit over the last few months. there are indications the tooth fairy may be low on cash. the tooth fairy gives an average of $2.60 a tooth. a 40 cents drop from last year. kids in the east get only 2.10 a tooth. as the mercury rises during the heat wave, retailers are offering more sales. you may see more discount offers in their e-mail. they have to do something to get people out of air conditioned homes. and times are tough for lidcy lohan she missed a court deadline to get counseling. and she says she cannot find a counselor that she can afford. really? those are the ups and downs. [ male announcer ] introducing the ultimate business phone -- the motorola expert from sprint. its powerful tools help you work faster and smarter so you can get back to playing "angry birds." it lets you access business forms on the go, fire off e-mails with the qwerty keypad,

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drought in thesouth and dangerous heat in the east, the heat wave is responsible for

nearly two dozen deaths and air quality has been poor. for a scientific perspective of the record-breaking heat wave we go to reese. >> each day we have gotten 90 million tons of carbon pollution that are spewing in to the atmosphere. we have taken climate change and we're now dealing with climate disruption. corn, due to relentless heat and a late planting, is at an all-time record high. we're looking at a 16-year low on the harvest. 6 1/2 million tons of hay have been killed by this drought. that means that 4 million cattle this winter will be supplementally fed. rising food prices, due to climate disruption, are what the voters are going to be faced

with this fall. and the lawmakers in d.c. need to wake up and get that the economy is wholly owned subsidiary, alex, of the environment. >> it is an interesting perspective you offer there, reese. but a lot of people will say it's the summer. no big deal. you have to expect these kinds of heat waves. is this normal? or is this a new normal? >> this is a new normal. look, if we go up to the arctic, the average temperature is 14 degrees higher than normal. each day in july we're missing 46,000 square miles of ice or the area equivalent to pennsylvania. this is awful. >> yeah, so it's been damaging to the environment overall this heat? >> awful. awful. remember, there was a chunk of ice from the glacier that broke off in greenland last august.

it is now floating in the north atlantic off in to the international shipping sgland thank yous for the heads up on that. interesting always. stay with us we have headline updates and breaking news as it happens. more in about 30 minutes. see you then. lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.